MNF: Top five reasons Chicago will cover

Apparently not, as their odds are rising with every keystroke I make. I suppose some of you see that as a reason to take the Arizona Cardinals. After all, sharp bettors have been known to make a buck or two by fading Joe Q. Public.

But the squares have it right in this case. This Bears team is the total package, and all the pieces are working together in perfect harmony.

The defensive front controls the line of scrimmage and gets into the backfield, which allows the other seven to wreak havoc in the secondary. That forces the opposing offense to take risks, which results in turnovers, which puts Rex Grossman and Co. right on the door step. Grossman and the offense run up the score, which makes the opposing team one-dimensional, which in turn makes things that much easier on the defense.

So as you can see, Chicago is locked in a cycle of spread covering perfection and is ready to run Arizona through the wringer. Here are my top five reasons to bank on the Bears Monday night.

In fact, he just about had to rip Larry Johnson’s head off last week (remember that vicious facemask?) just to stop the Kansas City running back from picking up a huge gain on a screen pass.

Now he’s being asked to cover Bernard ‘the Burner’ Berrian, the Chicago wide receiver who leads the league with five catches of 40 yards or more and four touchdowns. It’s going to be tough for Rolle just to keep pace with the speedy Berrian. If he does, the officials will be tossing the flag if he so much as lays a finger on Berrian after the stunt he pulled against the Chiefs last week.

Any way you cut it, that means strong field position for Chicago and you don’t want to let this offense anywhere near your paydirt. The Bears have converted on seven of their last 11 trips to the red zone.

4. Bears D-line boosted, Cards O-line wounded

The only way you could make Chicago’s defensive front any more dominant is to put a tank on the field.

That’s exactly what the Bears have done, naming Tank Johnson their starting defensive tackle after his stellar fill-in job for Ian Scott last Sunday. Johnson was credited with two quarterback hurries in last week’s dismantling of Buffalo and was flawless on his assignments.

Naming Johnson as the starter not only upgrades what was already the NFL’s best D-line, but also gives it incredible depth.

"The biggest thing is you look at it as what does it do for us in terms of rotation,” defensive coordinator Ron Rivera told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It starts a guy out and keeps the rotation going."

Lovie Smith wasn’t exaggerating when he said Mark Anderson was the steal of this year’s draft class.

In a year that saw Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Vince Young enter the pro game, the Alabama defensive end flew under the radar. Now he’s flying up into the faces of opposing quarterbacks and force-feeding them turf.

“I`m just going to come in and help out the best way I can,” he told the Sun-Times. “I know what I can do.”

Leinart will learn the hard way what Anderson can do Monday night. The rookie end’s five and a half sacks currently ranks second in the league. The only thing standing between him and Leinart is an offensive line that’s given up 17 sacks, the fourth most in the NFL.

2. No Larry, no long balls for Cardinals

When you’re betting a team in this pointspread range, your biggest fear is the dreaded backdoor cover.

The quarterback you’re betting against tosses up a Hail Mary late in the game just for the heck of it, one of his wideouts pulls it down in the end zone for some garbage points and screws your payday.

Pro Bowl receiver Larry Fitzgerald might have played that role Monday night, except he’s expected to miss the game with a hamstring injury. That’s leaves Anquan Boldin as Arizona’s sole deep threat, but with Johnson out of the picture the Bears are free to double team him all night.

1. It’s all in the numbers

I’d never recommend handicapping a game on stats alone, but these numbers speak for themselves.

The Bears are No.1 in points scored (31.2), No.1 in points allowed (7.2) have won four of their five games by at least 26 points and are 4-1 against the number.

Chicago is clearly in a class by itself, so don’t over think this one. Just give the points, and then take your book’s money.

Still not sold on Chicago? Check out Josh Hansen’s top five reasons the Cardinals will cover.

With playoff implications on the line, expect tight, low-scoring game between these two teams with hot goaltenders...

My free play is on Florida/Boston Under at 7:00 ET.

Boston has rebounded from a six-game losing streak by winning two games in a row after its 2-1 win in Carolina on Sunday. The Bruins return home where the Bruins are holding their opponents to only 2.3 goals per game which is a bit better than their 2.6 goals per game that they are giving up overall this season. Much of this improved play keeping the puck out of the net needs to be credited to goaltender Tuukka Rask who has been outstanding in front of his home fans this season. Rask owns a strong 2.04 goals against average along with a sizzling .930 save percentage when at home. The Bruins are clinging to the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt three points ahead of Ottawa and four points ahead of this Panthers team so the stakes remain very high for this veteran team. Rask may very well be playing his better goaltending at this point of the season as well. In his previous 12 starts this month, Rask has a 2.15 goals against average along with a .932 save percentage.

Florida has won four of its last six games as the Panthers make a late push to make the playoffs with their 4-2 win in Ottawa on Sunday. The Panthers stay on the road for this contest where they have seen the under go 7-3-3 in their last 13 contests away from home. The under is also 9-2-1 in their last 12 trips to Boston to face their Atlantic Division rivals. Florida's improved play as of late has much to do with the team’s improved play on defense as Florida is allowing only 2.2 goals per game over the last five games which is a significant improvement over its 2.7 goals per game seasonal average. Goaltender Roberto Luongo shook off a slow start this season to be the goalie the Panthers were hoping he would be when acquiring him in the offseason. Luongo has a 2.33 goals against average along with a .921 save percentage this year. Luongo has also heated up for Florida's playoff chase late this season as he owns a red hot 1.79 goals against average along with a .932 save percentage in his six starts this month. With playoff implications on the line, expect tight, low-scoring game between these two teams with hot goaltenders. Take the under.

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